Climate Change and Hope (November 18, 2020) Parrott, with Eric Baack

Climate Change and Hope

by STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY 151, FALL 2020 NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Opening Reading by Professor Eric Baack:

It is illusion to think that there is anything fragile about the life of the earth; surely this is the toughest membrane imaginable in the universe, opaque to probability, impermeable to death. We are the delicate part, transient and vulnerable as cilia.

Nor is it a new thing for humans to invent an existence that we imagine to be above the rest of life; this has been our most consistent intellectual exertion down the millennium. As illusion, it has never worked out to our satisfaction in the past, any more than it does today. Humans are embedded in nature. Lewis Thomas, Lives of a Cell (Language has been modified from the original to be more inclusive.)

Speakers: Duc Chu, Steven Conradt, cation, loss of habitat, extinction . . . It the main cause for this drastic degree of Samantha Dzangare, Alec Eitrhe- seems like once human-assisted climate climate change is all around us and so im, Naree King, and Grace Parrott. change is set in motion, it will continue many ecosystems are being destroyed as Steven: When thinking about climate change, the most worrisome thoughts I have are about the human desires at the helm of this colossal, dangerous ship. to fuel itself. Naree: A good-sized portion of humans still refuse to believe that climate change is real or that humans are a a result of that, but it seems like humans are either too stubborn to believe it or that humans do believe it but are too selfish to change habits quickly enough. Money is of the utmost priority to so large factor that contributes to climate Duc: As a global citizen, I worry most many people; too often is the environ- change, and because of that mindset about the future generations, who will ment the lowest priority. If we are cilia, other species that don’t play a role in the not only be impacted by the negative nature is sneezing. Said plainly, humans sped-up progression towards climate environmental consequences from cliare both creatures of opportunity, and change will be the ones who are most mate change but will also never be able creatures of habit. Often lacking self- vulnerable to the effects--that’s what to see and appreciate how diverse the restraint, our quest for ‘more’ drives us. worries me the most. There’s a deep earth ecosystem is. Thousands of species Grace: What worries me about climate change is that it will start to affect the human population more than scientists’ unfairness of having other animals and plants being the major bearers of our mistakes. Evidence of humans being have gone extinct, and the number does not seem to stop growing. Samantha: There are predictions anticipate. Our certain communities in government controls the the world that are alregulations for fossil fuel ready living in poverty emissions and a lot of the as well as high levels of conservation efforts as well inequality, and climate as the general view of the change certainly adds public to a certain extent. more to developmental At this point in time, our problems for developgovernment has not taken ing countries. This is drastic enough steps to reduce the US’s impact, and each day the situation gets worse. Alec: What worries me the most about climate change is how seemingly isolated incidents of climate change are usually never isolated and usually affect countless IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIC BAACK such bad news. Agriculture is very important, at least where l come from, because that is how my community survives. And so in the case when droughts occur (which has been the case for the past two natural processes in the Top row, from left: Naree King, Steven Conradt, Samantha Dzangare. Sec- years), food security world such as ocean acidifi- ond row, Alec Eitrheim, Duc Chu, Grace Parrott. Bottom row, Eric Baack will significantly con-

tinue dropping, requiring communities to rely on aid which oftentimes is never enough. Water scarcity is already an issue in some communities and climate change will certainly make life even harder which again will affect the health of people living in these communities. The fact that conversations around saving the climate have become more common and the efforts by some parts of the world to educate nations on how to preserve our environment gives me hope that life can get better for my people. Steven: It is my firm belief that there are ways to increase our global happiness while at the same time decreasing our footprints. I find consolation in so many things -- too many to list, really: namely, the restoration and subsequent protection of public lands and sites within America’s National Parks system, the incentive-based recyclable fabric initiatives by an increasing number of clothing manufactures, and the evergrowing importance on furthering our understanding of renewable forms of energy. Through these actions I believe that human greed can be maintained but redirected into investments into these emerging sectors and ideas. Alec: It makes me hopeful knowing climate change is not irreversible in the sense that humans as individuals can affect their environment through a number of small daily lifestyle changes. Duc: This goes along with more motivation and commitment to fight climate change from the public. World leaders, although not as in agreement as needed, are meeting together to agree on measurements that can reduce major causes of climate change, especially the burning of fossil fuel. The Paris Climate Agreement, although not yet providing signs of effectiveness, is a start and will not be the last agreement from world leaders to fight climate change as a whole global nation. Grace: There is also evidence that some species are already adapting, as we saw in the reefs that have a greater heat tolerance. I think we need to give more credit to nature and its ability to evolve with the ever-changing environment. These species may not be evolving “quickly enough,” but they are still making changes that are improving their survivability to a certain point in the future. Naree: One thing that gives me hope is seeing that things are being done to preserve species or preserve richness in a rapidly changing climate. We need to learn adaptation -– we may not be able to return nature to its old state. We need to be creative in finding ways to remedy issues, especially if changes in policies to fix climate change are happening slowly. It’s often easy to get tunnel vision in what it looks like to be successful when the only definition of success that is perceived is bringing something back to its original state. There are other ways to be successful in this journey towards combating climate change. Eric Baack: We have learned that what once seemed invulnerable may perish: the rainforests of the Amazon can burn, and the pole’s ice melt. We are right to fear the loss of spruce and fir from northern lakes, the extinction of songbirds, the disappearance of coral reefs. Yet we do not threaten life itself. Bacteria live in rocks a mile below the sea, and seeds can wait centuries before germinating. Despite volcanoes spanning half a continent, life has survived— it will likely survive us. Grace (The Sending): Go forth with love for this world, with the wisdom to weigh today’s desires against tomorrow’s needs, with the vision to see what thrives even as you mourn what is lost, and with an eagerness to live in a way that helps rather than harms the life around you. We send you out to cherish the amazing diversity of the nature you live among, to seek out the ways in which your life impacts your local environment, and to have the eagerness to adapt your routine of life to help—not hurt—the life around you. Go forth and cherish.